


Meet Me At The Coffee Shop

by xkoy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, College AU, Drama, Drama & Romance, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Romance, Sex, and more relationships too, coffee shop AU, theres a lot lol, will add more characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-11 22:00:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19118536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xkoy/pseuds/xkoy
Summary: “All of the while, it was you.”How two unlikely people became friends to lovers





	1. Chapter 1

Living in New York definitely had its perks from time to  time. It was the big Apple, the city of making it or breaking it, full of  opportunities. The mixing pot of cultures and life meant there was more than one  story to be told.

 

So when Thor Odinson found out he was going to be attending  ESU for the next 4 years on a full ride scholarship from American football, he

was absolutely thrilled. His younger brother, Loki, was set to attend next  year, so he was going to be going into this alone. 

 

Leaving England was really difficult at first; saying  goodbye to his friends and family, and partying the entire summer before  packing and leaving. He remembered a very vague (but important) conversation he  had with his parents the night before he left.

 

“Don’t party too much dear, and please, focus on your  studies.” His mom advised, her green eyes shining with the anxiousness only a

mother could have. The chandelier in their dining room did nothing to emphasize  the yellow curls of her hair, which he missed burying his head in dearly. His

father, on the other hand, looked proud and pleased all at once in the one eye  he possessed.

 

“You make your family proud now. Your sister already  finished college and now runs that law firm in the same city. If you need help,  she’s there.” He said in a lighthearted tone that was rare to hear.

 

“I’m sure she’ll exist, but she won’t help me.” Thor  grumbled, thinking back to their childhood of his mean, nonexistent yet caring

(in her own way) sister. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the high  ceiling. “A new country… I wonder if I’ll meet anyone special there.”

 

“I thought you had a special someone here, that Jane girl.” Odin  asked, both parents taking note of how Thor flinched slightly at the name.

 

“Ah, yes. But that was only for a summer, and she moved back  to New Mexico to the science of radiation or something.” A sad awkward smile filled  Thor’s face, memories of the summer senior year creeping back. Jane was a nice girl, actually no- she was someone Thor thought would last. The two of them  against the world, the countless conversations of dreams and love filled lust. He genuinely wanted the relationship to last, but she ended up leaving.

Well, no matter- he was over her now, even if her name hurts to hear. He spent the entirety of senior year discovering himself and being with whoever he pleased. Half wasteful and half useful. Now he had a new adventure  to look forward to.

 

“Well, if you find anyone while you’re over there, I’d love to meet them.” Frigga smiled, and gently patted her son’s hand. Thor felt a real smile blossom on his face and he returned the gesture. He wouldn’t be able to receive actions like this until months later, so he cherished the time left  with his family.

 

And with that and a sad goodbye from Loki (he got punched in the face at the end but it was worth seeing him cry), he was on a plane ride to New York City for his first semester of college. 

 

Needless to say, it’s been…interesting so far.

 

 

 

After getting lost in the big city immediately from exiting the airport, figuring out where the univeristy was, and being late to orientation, he fell in love with the place. He made new friends off the bat from football and various classes. Steve, the star Captain of the team he could proudly call a leader who is your all around American boy. He’s a bit bashful, but confident and artistic in his own way and has good beliefs. They became friends right off the bat. 

 

There was Bucky, who is Steve’s best friend with a metal arm and a silent type. He slowly found out that Bucky went missing for a while and just got back on the grid, slowly regaining memories and his old personality back. He’s nice to be around along with Sam, who was also Bucky’s best ‘friend’ (mhm sure) with an outspoken character, comedic yet serious around others. Then Clint, the goofball of the team who is the most hardworking out of all of them, trying to maintain his figure and grades to stay on with them. While an open book, it took a while to find out he was an orphan who grew up in the circus and was saved from the hassle by a guy named Nick Fury to live a normal life. There’s rumors he’s having a fling with Coulson, one of the assistants to Fury but he’d never know. 

 

They were his best mates on the team, all of them becoming known as the hot hunks throughout campus. Hysterical name, Loki commented when they skyped the first time in a month. 

 

Then there was Tony Stark, the genius playboy billionare philanthropist in his math class. He was well known on social media and everywhere in general as being the rich playboy who's got a knack for inventions and sass. The guy was fun to be around, and not a total asshole as strangers painted him to be. He had a good heart (literally, he found out from his best friends Rhodes and Pepper that he got a heart transplant) and became a good friend overtime.

 

 

There was also Natasha Romanoff, a Russian spy, the Black Widow (her nickname in their friend group) that seemed to know everything about everyone. Her alluring demeanor and sexy appeal had a lot of guys (and girls) falling to their knees on campus. She wasn't just looks; she was so sneaky and wise about a lot of things that Thor couldn't wrap his head around quickly. She was one of the first people with Steve and Bucky to show him around campus. Overall, she's a good friend as well he became close with overtime. 

 

There was also Brunnhilde, or Valkeryie from England as well. He found out they used to go to the same elementary school and be childhood friends, but she left to go to America after an incident she refuses to talk about. She's an intersting person- drunk all the time and a sharp wit tongue, someone Thor is sure would get along with Loki. Despite how much they disagree with each other, they’re the closest thing they have to home.

 

There were more people he became friends with through his friends like Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, Wanda's boyfriend Vision, the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (weird fanclub name they had), Stephen Strange and his magic club, Scott Lang and his girlfriend Hope, the Prince of Wakanda and his younger sister, and Valkeryie's weird manager En Dwi Gast. There are many people that Thor was overwhelmed at first, deciding who was a friend and who was a fan.

 

He got himself a little cozy family out here though: with Steve, Tony, Natasha, and Clint as his main friends. He couldn't help but feel like someone was missing in their wild chat called the Avengers. He wasn't sure who though.

 

"And why do you think that?" Loki's computerized voice came through the speakers, bringing Thor back to present reality. They were skyping for the second time, and it was around midnight for Thor and 8 a.m for Loki. Why Loki was up on a Saturday at this time only God knows.

 

"I don't know, I just feel like someone else could be part of the team. Someone like one of us. We've all gotten pretty close over the past couple months-"

 

"Yeah, I've seen your Instagram stories. You even have a dedicated highlight in your bio to them." Loki rolled his eyes, continuing to play on his phone. "Your bio even says 'God of Thunder' ugh."

 

"I gotta live up to my name." Thor cheekily smiled. "But yeah, I feel like something is missing."

 

"Maybe you're just horny or something. Go drink yourself till you vomit like an idiot again."

 

"See, this is why you and Valkeryie would be best friends." 

 

"Mhm, she sounds grand."

 

“She definitely is.” Thor glanced at the computer clock and noticed the time. “Gah, I have a morning class so I have to sleep now.”

 

“I forgot, different time zones. Alright then, see you in your nightmares.” Loki said, his signature smirk on his face. “Goodnight brother.”

 

Thor smiled, “And Goodmorning to you brother.”

 

The call ended with the black screen and Thor’s face in the reflection. His long blonde hair was slightly longer now, and he was starting to get a bit of scruff. He rubbed his blue eyes till they were blurry, he’d definitely have to shave in the morning.

 

He yawned and leaned back into his bed, staring at the high ceiling. He was lucky to get the building Stark’s father renovated, and it was quite a luxury to get. He lived in the building with all the friends he mentioned, beginning to count them off the top of his head until he fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Meet Me at the Coffee Shop CH 2 

 

“Getting an 8 a.m class is hell and no one should ever consider it.” Tony Stark proclaimed loudly before flopping into his chair and slamming his head along with a 

Starbucks cup on the desk. 

 

“Well maybe if you didn’t go to that club till 3 am and stay up writing your thesis that was due today, you would’ve gotten some sleep.” Strange said, flipping his book about ‘Ancient Wonders’ without looking up. 

 

Tony rose his head. There were dark bags under the dim chocolate eyes he possessed and his usually perfect hair was untidy, the dark bags not complimenting his skin. He snarled at Stephen, who only ignored him. 

 

“Stephen has a point, you know.” Tony turned his head to Steve, who was looking at him apologetically. “You should stop pulling late nights.” 

 

“We know you have a social life and you pop bottles with models, you don’t have to rub it in our face.” Clint said, trying to balance a pencil on his nose. Natasha was right next to him, scrolling through her phone. 

 

“How else will you know about my extravagant lifestyle?” Tony joked before slamming his head back down into the desk once more. While the rest of his friends rolled their eyes at his usual behavior, he thought about the crazy night before. 

 

It started off with knowing at the end of the night, he was going to jump off the marble balcony that his mansion had because most Stark charity events ran by his dad are, in a nice way, boring. All social elites bragging and showing off, secretly chiding his name in the shadows. Nothing new, but nothing he didn’t like. 

 

He continued to complain to his science bro, his beautiful green lover, his personal therapist (two titles the latter didn’t like but there’s no way the names are gonna drop now), the light of his life: Bruce Banner, who knew all too well about Tony’s dilemmas and the problems his family brings. Tony was glad Bruce was a good listener, otherwise he knew he would drive the poor man up the wall with everything he said. 

 

They were working on a little side project in their shared lab, and he remembered Bruce smiling sadly at the end of Tony’s rant. 

 

“I just- I don’t know what to do. I think I’m just going to drop out of college and run away from the U.S, change my name and start a new life.” Tony finished. 

 

Bruce snorted, going back to the papers at hand. “Don’t be so dramatic, it’s just a charity event.” 

 

“Would you like to join me? God knows it’s make the night 20x better.” 

 

“Thanks, but no thanks. I got papers to grade and a quiz to finish.” 

 

Tony blew a raspberry into the air. Granted, he and Bruce have already completed their bachelors and were aiming for masters- wrong, Bruce was a PhD- and they were already 18. They could graduate anytime they wanted to. And also slack off a little bit. 

 

“Come on man, you’re too worked up. I’m being serious, you should join me tonight.” 

 

“I’m fine Tony.” Bruce replied, examining the paper from a student in Bio 101. They got a 98% on what seems to be the first exam, pretty impressive. 

 

“You’re always working, it’s not healthy. When’s the last time you went out?” Tony took note of how Bruce froze. 

 

“I-I went out for lunch yesterday with Val-“ 

 

“That doesn’t count. I don’t mean hangouts; I mean like romantics, going on dates, having sex-“ 

 

Bruce made a noise that meant he should stop the list, but that didn’t stop Tony from continuing. 

 

“Flings, swing parties, anything! Come on Bruce, tell me at least you’ve been letting the oxytocin run through your head. Or that you’re interested in someone.” Tony looked at his high school friend, who was too shy at the moment to look back. A few seconds of silence filled the air and Tony smirked, knowing what was about to transpire. 

 

“You have a crush, don’t you?” 

 

“No!” Bruce exclaimed a little too quickly, blushing red before looking at the exams again. “Not..particularly.” 

 

“Mhm” Tony said slyly, leaning in towards his adorable friend. “And who is this lucky fellow that my Brucie has laid eyes upon?” 

 

“I’m-“ 

 

Suddenly, a buzz ran through the air and Tony sighed at it, digging through his pockets and pulling out his phone. It was his dad, of course. 

 

“Alright, I gotta go do damage control and suffer. Don’t think this conversation is over!” Tony yelled, walking out the door and answering the call. 

 

The rest of the night involved flying on a plane to California, attending the event for 2 hours, ditching in the middle of it because he spent the past 2 hours bugging Rhodey and Pepper to pick him up. Luckily, Rhodey was staying the semester in America and had military connection, so he got on a jet back to New York City. 

 

He proceeded to convince the guy to go to this party at a certain club for their happy hour drinks. Of course, they both got a little too tipsy (recounting from their Instagram stories) and Tony may have made out with some model, but what did he know. All he really remembers is bright lights and loud music at this point. 

 

He assumes because Strange is being an asshole to him right now that he called him at 3 am to help him to his dorm. Strange, being the sweetheart he is, did it and told him he had a thesis due soon and a bunch of other shit. 

 

The wearing off of sobriety was not fun. 

 

Tony groaned once more, his head pounding and his eye sockets feeling like it was sunken in. He’ll take the risk and sleep in class to miss everything. 

 

“Friend Stark, are you alright?” a deep British (or was it Australian?) accent asked with concern. Tony peeked up to see the Nordic god himself, the ray of sunshine known as Thor. He had worry etched on his face. “Did you have another wild night?” 

 

“Very observant, Point Break.” He replied but tried to tone down on the sarcasm. Thor was a super sweet man who deserved no harm. He cares for everything and everyone, and has helped Tony more than once with life and work while he helped him with settling here in NY. 

 

“Go drink a smoothie, or whip up a concoction of a drink to sober up! I’m sure you’ll get through today great” Thor smiled brightly and everyone had to turn their heads to the side a little bit at the literal rays of light shining out from the action. 

 

“An actual god.” Clint said aloud and Natasha nodded her head in agreement. “Quill would be quaking right now.” 

 

“What are you doing here, Thor? Your class is another floor up.” Steve asked. 

 

“Ah yes, well I wanted to share some good news! I got a 98% on my Bio exam!” 

 

Everyone cheered and whooped, including some others in the classroom. A round of congratulations went around. 

 

“Yes, yes thank you! But I got a pdf of my exam paper and someone wrote something on it.” Thor pulled out his phone and proceeded to show the email. “It says ‘Good job!’ With a heart and smiley face. How cute.” 

 

“Well that’s adorable.” Steve said, chuckling a little. “It’s like you’re in school again or something.” 

 

Tony suddenly stood up and grabbed Thor’s phone, his moments stiff and aware. He looked at the email and zoomed in on the handwriting. 

 

It was Bruce Banner’s handwriting. 

 

And he wrote a ‘good job’ with a heart. 

 

Bingo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello ;)
> 
> I do this thing where every month I switch fandoms and write during the summer, then never update LOL
> 
> but i love thorbruce with my heart and endgame hurt me so i joined the fandom officially now wow  
> I kinda wrote these chapters in 3 days? So sorry if they're rough oof I have no clue where this is going but I know how it's gonna end soooooo wink wink  
> as someone who's just started college, I hope everyone knows how damn accurate this is lol rip tony
> 
> i hope you enjoy this story and continue the support!! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Bruce heaved an exhausted sigh as he plopped the various books into the cart. The library was dim and quiet as usual, the students conversing in giggles or whispers or various ones studying in silence. The sounds echoed throughout the entire building, which was just as big as the library building at NYU.

 

His shift was ending soon, all he had to do was restock some books and then he could be on his merry way. The only problem was: after this, he didn’t know what to do.

 

Bruce doesn’t live a very eventful life at the moment. Sure, he goes on hangouts with his friends or gets invited to a party every once in a while, but he’s always been the timid type. It took a while to break out of his shell in high school (thanks to Tony’s help) and whatnot.

 

He’ll get invited to hangout with Tony’s friends like Steve Rogers, the captain of the team, or Natasha’s friends. But he still felt slightly out of place. Almost like he did his entire life: he didn’t belong.

 

It was fine though. He didn’t really care. Tony and Nat and his cousin Jen cared for him. But he couldn’t be bothered.

 

He thought back to the conversation he had with Tony a couple days before. He knew he meant well, but it was embarrassing in general. It’s not like he didn’t want to have flings or just a relationship in general. He just didn’t have time for stuff like that.

 

‘Sure, don’t have time. Keep using that excuse.’ A voice whispered in the back of his head. Bruce blinked it away and continued to put books on a shelf.

 

After clocking out and gathering his supplies, he walked out into the cool April night, closing in on his surroundings. The campus was pretty quiet at this time, a few students walking around. He wished he could see the starry night sky like he used to in Ohio, but all the city lights were blocking the view. The stars were a comforting friend from childhood that he missed dearly.

 

Bruce raked his hand through his wavy brown hair, trying not to look completely lost standing in front of this library. Where could he go for tonight? He had a little bit of work to do and he could do it at his dorm, but for once in his life, he felt like going out and being in a social environment.

 

There was that coffee shop that Val introduced him to just five minutes outside of campus. He could study, get work done there, and stay socially acceptable at the same time.

 

Bruce smiled to himself with a determined mindset. He’s going to do this. With that, he walked towards his destination: the coffee shop.

 

The outside of campus was bustling with night life. Taxi cabs and cars filling the streets, various people walking the crosswalks, and around the corner was the ultra glow of the city provided. Lights inside shops through the glass windows showed civilians eating and laughing about whatever the other said. Random conversations filled the sidewalks about how they were roommates or a business meeting was being held. 

 

The Marvel was up ahead, Bruce taking note of how uncrowded it was at midnight. Kind of a surprise, cause most chains like Starbucks or any coffee place in New York is jammed pack. 

 

It stood on the corner, providing an open double glass window view for those inspiring authors who wanted to write the cliche coffee shop love story. The sign was lit a soft red with the white bold letters of Marvel glowing into the street. 

 

As he walked inside, he was instantly greeted with the aroma of coffee beans and steamed milk. The black tiled floors lamented the soft yellow light bulbs hanging on the ceiling. The shop itself was big, it had enough tables everywhere for a bunch of couches and decorations to take its place. Bookshelves were used as makeshift walls and monitors playing a good playlist on Spotify, while the little details of old time posters and comic characters filled the walls.

 

Bruce smiled at the scenery before him, noting that there were only two people in here at the moment. He walked up to the counter and glanced at the menu briefly, trying to plan his words before hand.

 

“What can I get for you?” An older gentleman with cool looking sunglasses asked. He still wore a bow tie, how cute.

 

“Oh yes, I’ll have the uh latte with almond milk please?”

 

“Coming right up.” The man replied before sauntering to the machines.

 

Bruce took a seat near the window and set up his work. As soon as it was all on the table, he glanced at it for a brief minute before looking out at the streets again.

 

He couldn’t really seem to focus now a days, and he didn’t know why? Almost like he was distracted, he remembered the conversation with Jen the other night on the phone. She was worried sick about him. 

 

“Are you going through another episode again? Bruce, please if it happens, go see a therapist over there-“

 

“Jen, i haven’t had one of those in a year. I’m pretty sure that’s a milestone.”

 

“It’s just...I’m starting to get the jitters again. I mean, your dad tried contacting the house- and he knows damn well that he has restraining orders here. He’s trying to get in contact with you, and it’s driving Mom up the walls.”

 

Bruce knew by now that when his cousin got scared, it meant serious business. He assured her that night that everything would be okay, but now he wasn’t so certain himself.

 

Maybe that’s why he’s been distracted. There’s also-

 

The ring of a bell filled the shop, causing Bruce to look up at the noise. He felt himself freeze, his heart pounding in his chest and his cheeks burn at the sight of the man before him.

 

Thor Odinson, in all his beautiful glory, walked towards the counter and began to order on the menu.

 

Bruce felt the internal freakout begin in his mind. The ‘oh god’ was running faster and louder by decibels every 5 seconds. What is Thor, the gorgeous international Nordic God of Thunder looking hunk, doing here?

 

Suddenly, it hit him at once. One: he was probably going to study here and Two: there’s the possibility he knew that it was Bruce who wrote that note on his exam.

 

“No freaking way.” He whispered to no one in general as Thor turned around and began to walk towards him (?) and his table (?)

 

Thor was about to pass by, causing Bruce to look away from any eye contact. He probably looked like a dumb ass right now and there was no fixing it.

 

He heard a chuckle on his left, and turned to see his crush stare at him with a smile. They both looked at each other in the eyes, before Thor said.

 

“I like your latte art, I hope mine comes out good as well.”

 

With that said, Thor walked away and sat at a table near the wall.

 

Bruce looked down at what he was talking about. He didn’t even realize he received his coffee: it was in a fancy mug cup and the latte art was of an angry face man looking at him.

 

Dear god, someone help him get through this night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> psst I made a playlist for this story like a loooong time ago but now it’s come in handy and you can read it uwu
> 
> [link here](https://open.spotify.com/user/datonehetagal/playlist/4Sdx8sIbSeHWfNcqTUCLM7?si=2S0-jL58TMqt_KUHvZz77Q)
> 
> also peep that Stan Lee cameo Rest In Peace  
> will they ever converse again? find out next time in dBz


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